GONE TO THE DOGS

At Carmike Cinema

At Carmike Cinema

January 15, 2009

OPENING TODAY AT 10 P.M. My Bloody Valentine 3-D “My Bloody Valentine 3D” returns to the entertainingly scary days of yesteryear, when the idea was to scare movie-going couples enough to make them wrap their arms around each other. There's no way to watch this non-stop string of brutal attacks without seeing the absurdity in the whole thing. Toss in first-rate 3D and the movie not only pays a proper homage to the 1981 original, but kicks it up about 1,000 notches. Fans of '70s and '80s horror films will recognize the familiar plot. A killer - this time known as The Miner, a pick-swinging maniac made crazy after being the only survivor of a mining accident - chops his way through an isolated community while the local law enforcement show up just in time to crack bad jokes about the victims. The Miner was stopped after his first killing spree, but 10 years later he's back to his old ways. The question is whether the original Miner has returned or someone new has decided to continue the tradition. Jensen Ackles (the hotter brother on The CW's “Supernatural”) finds himself a suspect. (R, 100 minutes) Hotel for Dogs “Hotel for Dogs” is a clever concept that quickly runs out of room to roam. Kids might be entertained by the canine antics, and certainly the film's ideas about the importance of loyalty and family are worthwhile for little ones to ponder. But even serious dog lovers will be severely bored. Emma Roberts (“Nancy Drew,” “Unfabulous”) and Jake T. Austin (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) co-star as 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother, Bruce, who've been bouncing between various foster homes since their parents died. Now they've been forced to hide their inordinately resourceful and perpetually hungry Jack Russell terrier, Friday. When the scruffy white pooch scampers off, and Andi and Bruce follow him into an abandoned hotel, they find a 160-pound bull mastiff and an energetic Boston terrier who already cause the place home. (PG, 100 minutes) Paul Blart: Mall Cop A single, suburban dad tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It's a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa's helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul's daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey's most formidable mall cop will have to save the day. (PG, 91 minutes) Notorious You love to hear the story, again and again: Young boy trapped in poverty, chooses crime over the classroom, rises to infamous heights only to be gunned down at the apex of success. But this biography of the rapper Notorious B.I.G. transcends gangster-flick clichŽs because of the outsized talents of the artist and the actor who portrays him. B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, was an artist of unique skill and charisma - all of which is captured in a pitch-perfect, and at times, even moving performance by the obscure rapper Jamal ''Gravy'' Woolard. Unlike recent music biopics such as ''Ray'' or ''Walk the Line,'' whose audiences may have been unfamiliar with some biographical events, most ''Notorious'' viewers will know exactly what's coming: The classic hits; the illogical beef with Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie), birthing the East-West feud; the twin killings of these gifted storytellers. But ''Notorious'' manages to add something new to Biggie's exhaustively chronicled story. The interwoven stories of the women in his life give fresh insight into Biggie's music and personality. No matter how bad his behavior, they always gave him one more chance. (R, 120 minutes) Bride Wars This cliched comedy tosses out stereotypes about female materialism and cattiness with all the giddy gusto of a newly married woman flinging the bouquet at her single girlfriends. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway star as Liv and Emma, best friends who've obsessively fantasized about the ideal wedding since childhood. When Liv and Emma both get engaged, they accidentally book their weddings at New York's Plaza Hotel on the same day. Neither will budge, which leads to an increasingly destructive game of sabotage and one-upmanship. (PG, 90 minutes) Gran Torino Walt Kowalski is a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that foul their neighborhood. (PG, 116 minutes) The Unborn Best as one can tell, writer-director David S. Goyer's film is a sort of Jewish version of “The Exorcist,” which is a vaguely novel concept. Catholics are usually the ones who have all the fun purging demons. But Goyer, who wrote the “Blade” series and co-wrote “The Dark Knight,” makes things laughably more complicated than they needed to be. Well, there are some effective scares here, and you'll laugh at yourself afterward for jumping like a little girl. Odette Yustman runs around in tight jeans, tank tops and boy shorts as Casey Beldon, a young woman being haunted by startling dreams, then a weird little neighborhood boy, then hallucinatory images of insects, and finally a full-blown spiritual attack. (PG-13, 95 minutes) Marley and Me (PG, 123 minutes) Bedtime Stories (PG, 95 minutes) Valkyrie (PG-13, 120 minutes) Yes Man, Seven Pounds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.